Information

Tess of the d'Urbervilles will be the book we discuss in April. It was written by Thomas Hardy and published in 1891.

Thomas Hardy was born in Dorset, England in 1840. Mr. Hardy's father was a stonemason, and was educated by his mother, an educated woman and lover of poetry and literature. Hardy was trained as an architect, but took more naturally to writing fiction and poetry. He is regarded as one of England's most celebrated authors.

Mr. Hardy often focuses his narratives in the imaginary English county of Wessex. Tess of the d'Urbervilles is Mr. Hardy's penultimate novel, followed by Jude the Obscure in 1895. The themes in Tess include criticism of modernism and the double standard imposed on women.

More information regarding Mr. Hardy and Tess can be found on the following websites:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tess_of_the_d%27Urbervilles#Symbolism_and_themes
http://www.online-literature.com/hardy/
http://www.yale.edu/hardysoc/Welcome/welcomet.htm
http://www.bibliomania.com/0/0/26/56/frameset.html